You Will Shoot Your Eye Out

The old Colt Python earned a reputation as one of the finest revolvers ever built, then disappeared long enough to become painfully collectible. Colt brought the snake back in 2020 with stronger construction and redesigned internals, giving 2026 buyers a much harder question: buy the legend, or buy the modern gun built to shoot?

Editor’s Note: This article originally reviewed a Royal Blue 6″ Colt Python manufactured in 1968, years before Colt revived the model. We have updated it for 2026 with the 2020 reintroduction, modern design changes, current barrel and finish options, new-vs-vintage pricing, and a buyer’s verdict. The original testing, photographs, captions, humor, and conclusions remain the foundation of the article.

The Colt Python Returned in 2020

There is a passage later in this original review that has aged almost suspiciously well. Back when used Python prices were climbing and Colt had no new gun to sell you, the author wondered whether the company might be sitting on the snakes, waiting for the right time to strike.

Strike it did. Colt reintroduced the Python in 2020, bringing its most famous double-action revolver back into regular production after years of collector-market insanity.

But Colt did not simply dig the old tooling out of the basement, blow off the dust, and tell everybody it was 1974 again. The new Python was reengineered for modern manufacturing. Colt strengthened the frame around the top strap, simplified the internal action, tightened manufacturing tolerances with modern machining, and retained the leaf-spring character of the old gun rather than replacing the whole personality with a generic coil-spring action.

The silhouette survived. You still get the ventilated rib, full-length underlug, six-shot cylinder, rearward-pull cylinder latch, adjustable sights, and that unmistakable Python profile. However, under the sideplate, this is a new generation.

Vintage vs. New Colt Python: What Actually Changed?

Feature	Vintage Python	2020-and-Newer Python
Production Style	Extensive traditional hand fitting	Modern CNC machining and tighter repeatable tolerances
Action	Classic Colt Python lockwork	Redesigned, simplified lockwork with fewer components
Main Spring	Traditional leaf-spring Colt system	Redesigned leaf-spring system retained
Top Strap	Original I-frame design	Strengthened with substantially more steel in the critical area
Front Sight	Period configuration varies	User-changeable front sight
Muzzle	Traditional vintage crown	Recessed target-style crown
Classic Finish	Royal Blue, nickel, later stainless	Modern stainless plus later blued production
Collector Value	Often substantial	Primarily a current-production shooter
Parts and Support	Vintage specialist territory	Current-production support advantage
Best Reason to Buy	History, originality, collecting	Shooting, durability, value

Calling the new revolver a “copy” of the old Python misses the point. The new gun is better understood as Colt taking the old Python’s visual identity and shooting personality, then rebuilding the mechanical package around manufacturing methods that did not exist when the original was introduced in 1955.

Colt added roughly 30 percent more steel around the top-strap area and simplified the action considerably. Several assemblies in the original became single modern components, cutting friction points and making consistent production possible without the extraordinary amount of hand fitting that helped make old Pythons both wonderful and expensive.

Does that mean the new trigger is worse because somebody with a stone and a lifetime of experience did not personally whisper encouragement to every engagement surface? Not necessarily. Reviews of the revived Python have repeatedly found exceptionally smooth double-action pulls and crisp single-action breaks. Some experienced shooters actually prefer the consistency of the modern action.

That does not make the guns the same. A 1960s Royal Blue Python is a mechanical artifact from a particular era of American gunmaking. A 2026 Python is a modern production revolver built to be used. Pick your flavor of romance.

The Modern Colt Python Is a Family Now

The 2020 return started with stainless 4.25″ and 6″ revolvers. Colt subsequently expanded the family with a 3″ Python and an 8″ version, giving buyers everything from a relatively compact carry-sized snake to a revolver that looks like it should arrive with its own tripod.

Then Colt brought back another part of the old magic. In 2024, the company reintroduced a redesigned blued Python. No modern production finish needs to pretend it came out of the same polishing room as a pristine 1960s Royal Blue gun, but the return of a dark steel Python was exactly what a lot of snake people had been demanding since the stainless revival appeared.

The practical result in 2026 is that you no longer need to raid a retirement account just because you want a Python with the correct number of holes in the cylinder. The collector market and shooter market have finally separated again.

What Does a Colt Python Cost in 2026?

Modern Python: Standard current-production guns commonly trade in roughly the low $1,200s through the mid $1,400s depending on barrel length, finish, configuration, and seller. Verified standard 4.25″ stainless and blued configurations have carried a $1,499 MSRP, although specialty and engraved versions can cost considerably more.

Recent sold-market examples illustrate the point. A new 6″ stainless Python sold for $1,421.95 in September 2026, while a new 8″ stainless example sold for $1,299.99. Deals move around. Apparently even snakes go on sale.

Vintage Python: This is where asking “what does a Python cost?” becomes roughly as useful as asking what an old Corvette costs. Which year? Which barrel? Which finish? Original grips? Original box? Refinished? Turn line? Engraved? Early serial number?

Broad 2026 market tracking puts an ordinary used vintage Python around the $2,000 mark on average, but individual guns move far above and below that number. Recent sales include a 1978 Royal Blue 4″ Python at $2,675 and a 1976 bright-nickel 6″ gun at $2,870.99. A three-digit 1956 Royal Blue 6″ Python sold for $7,275. Rare factory engraving and unusual configurations can go much higher.

The lesson is simple. Buy a modern Python by configuration and street price. Buy a vintage Python by provenance, originality, condition, production period, and collector desirability. Those are two different transactions that happen to involve guns with the same snake on the barrel.

Original Review: I’m in Love With a Snake

Hello. My name is David, and I’m in love with a snake. I used to be ophidiophobic, but I’ve begun a steady program of exposure therapy. I now spend a lot of time with a Python, and it has opened my eyes. I guess it should come as no surprise, as most of the gun-loving free world has a soft spot for Colt’s snakes.

These badass guns were built in staggering numbers from 1955 until 2005. Many believe that the Colt Python is the single best revolver ever to be produced. In a world with a lot of revolvers, many of which are exceptionally well-made guns, that is a bold claim. But it hardly stops there. As some of those Python backers also believe that revolvers are vastly superior to automatics, the Python begins to look like the pinnacle of an immense handgun pyramid.

1968 Colt Python Specs and That Legendary Trigger

This Python, which was made in 1968, has a 6″ barrel. They were made with short barrels, as short as 2.5″, and with longer 8″ barrels, and several in between. The 6″ gun is substantial. The full-length barrel lug adds weight to an already heavy design.

I’d have to break out a scale to weigh this thing, but to hell with that. It is 3 pounds, easy. This gun was made in the era that appreciated big-block engines and curves on women. None of these models look like tall boys or hybrid cars. And they weren’t shy about using American steel in guns. There’s more steel in a Python than there is in a 2015 Ford F-150. The grip, this one is not original to the gun, is huge. The fat flare at the end of the one-piece design forces your hand up on the grip.

The trigger on this one breaks like some of those anemic fashion models, right at 8 pounds in double-action mode, and just north of 3 pounds in single-action. If poets still wrote romantic ballads, we’d be awash in odes to the Python’s trigger. It is that good. In single action, there is no creep. No take-up. No overtravel.

The Pythons were originally made in Royal Blue, like this one, and in nickel-plated versions. The nickel version was later replaced by stainless steel. The longer-barreled guns had full-length vent ribs on top, and the sights, both front and rear, are adjustable.

Make no mistake. The Python is a beast. With six rounds of .357, the capacity is on par with most of the competition. The 6″ barrel produces muzzle velocities in the 1,150 FPS range with 158 grain Federal Hydra-Shok JHPs. That’s on the slow end of the .357s, as the bullet weighs more. Basic .38s will leave the barrel anywhere from the high 800s to the low 1000s. That’s not bad, but I’d never carry anything in the Python that wasn’t capable of taking down a moose, so I’m sticking with the .357s.

When You Couldn’t Buy a New Python

With the stunning effectiveness of the Python, and the exquisite aesthetics, why couldn’t you pop into your local FFL and buy a Python?

This section was originally written when the Python was no longer in regular production. That is obviously no longer true, but the history explains why vintage values exploded and why Colt’s 2020 return mattered so much.

This section is going to be filled with some conjecture. I’d be willing to bet that most of it is 100% accurate. But Colt won’t comment, and I think there’s a good reason for that, too. So I’ll stop being vague and get to it.

1. Revolvers used to be popular. The Python, in fact, was carried by a lot of law enforcement agencies. These were standard-issue firearms up into the 1990’s. And they were incredibly reliable, accurate, and iconic; everything you’d want from a sidearm except the capacity. So out they went. And as the public’s preference for pistols grew, sales slumped. Bye-bye snakes.

2. These aren’t inexpensive guns. When a lot of other guns are being made of plastic, the snakes start to look like resource hogs. The tooling was antiquated and old-fashioned, the materials were pricey, and the market for the guns was not-so-slowly drying up.

So the expensive guns for which there was a shrinking market were pulled from production. Clearly, we see now, the market hadn’t dried up. Not completely. And the guns were selling for insane prices. I’m going to jump in here with my consumer bias and say that the prices for used Pythons are insane. $3,000? And that’s for a shooter in good condition. You can find a better price, occasionally, and you can take out a second mortgage for one that’s new-in-box, and unturned.

Side note: I got schooled in revolver valuation recently, and I’d like to pass on this nugget. “Unfired” is easy enough to fake. I can take a gun in reasonably good condition and spruce it up so it looks new. “Unturned” means that the cylinder shows no marks from rotation. This is a better way to evaluate the wear on a revolver. A truly pristine, unturned, unfired Python will fetch a very high price, so high that it is worth the risk for some to attempt to pass off fakes. Caveat emptor.

The Author Called It: New Snakes Really Did Return

3. New Snakes? So let’s entertain a third option for Colt’s decision to pull the Python. They may have seen the downward slope of the supply/demand curve. What to do? Continue to flood the market with expensive pistols? Hell no. Cut supply. Immediately. Let the demand build. Watch what happens on the secondary market and figure out where your price point should be. Judge that delicate balancing point between supply and demand that will allow you to charge a premium for a product produced in limited numbers. Colt may be sitting on the snakes, biding their time, waiting, somewhat snake-like, for the right time to strike.

As guns are a popular topic of conversation here at GunsAmerica, we’ve had numerous conversations around the virtual water-cooler about Colt. More than Colt would like, I think. But we all love the snakes, and can’t see why Colt doesn’t jump on the newfound popularity of the revolver. Retro revolvers.

2026 update: That speculation turned out to be amusingly close to reality. Colt brought the Cobra back first, then the King Cobra, and finally reintroduced the Python in 2020. The revived gun now exists alongside the vintage market rather than replacing it, which is probably the best possible outcome for shooters and collectors alike.

Shooting a 1968 Colt Python: The Trigger Lives Up to the Myth

You should take what I say about economics with a grain of salt. I’ve got a Ph.D., but it isn’t in economics. And this is a review, so I’m much more interested in how this thing shoots. I’m not one to put away shiny collectables. I’ve got a seven-year-old boy, so I can’t use a Python as a coffee table set-about. If I can’t shoot it, it doesn’t stick around long.

This one, though, shoots straight. It shoots better than any revolver I’ve ever owned or shot. You’ll see what I mean when you look at the target pics. I’m not that good with a revolver, but this one made me feel like I could be a rockstar.

And I did better with it in double action than I did in single action, defeating my own long-held belief that single action is superior. I used to take a constant ribbing from Bob Lawman, a revolver expert, about my half-assed revolver technique. He swore I would shoot better if I just learned how to shoot a double-action.

Well, Bob, I get it. The trigger on this Python is smooth, light, and easy to stage. I can rock the hammer back with the trigger and hold it all day long.

In single action, I kept dropping the trigger a bit unexpectedly. The pull is light enough that I’d drop at least one round early. But the double-action pull was gratifying and has inflated my ego.

Vintage Python Reliability and Timing

It is a revolver. What could go wrong? According to the wisdom of the internet, the Pythons are prone to timing issues as their round counts escalate. Maybe so. The cylinder locks up tight to the forcing cone on this one, and I had no issues with the timing. That said, I would estimate the round count on this one to be very low. The timing works fine.

If a Python were to get out of time, the cylinder would lock up with the forcing cone, but not perfectly. This allows gas to escape. It can even shave off bits of lead. I’ve fired revolvers and had to perform basic first aid after. But that’s tremendously unlikely on a gun as well-built as this. A more likely scenario is that you’d sacrifice a bit of accuracy and see more soot on the cylinder.

This is also one of the meaningful differences for the 2026 buyer. Colt redesigned and strengthened the modern Python partly to create a more durable working revolver using current materials and manufacturing. An old gun should be evaluated as an old gun. Timing, lockup, originality, previous action work, and overall condition matter enormously when collector money is involved.

Original Verdict: The Python Was Too Good and Too Precious

This is my first Python. And I love it. Every time I look at it, I see the 1970s. I’ve seen a few episodes of The Walking Dead, but I’m not zombie obsessive. I have a hard time suspending my disbelief long enough to believe anyone, let alone roaming the countryside in a world where ammo is no longer being manufactured, would carry anything other than a 9mm.

But if I had Hollywood’s unending supply lines and a steady stream of slightly lethargic targets that wouldn’t shoot back, I’d carry a Python, too. Hell, I’d carry two. With a double-action trigger like this, I’d be dual-wielding like a maniac.

In the real world, though, I’m faced with a dilemma. While there is a limited supply of Pythons, Colt’s competitors continue to push their own, completely capable .357 revolvers. I have a hard time carrying a gun this precious when there are less expensive guns that work. I almost said just as well.

If I were ever to use this in a defensive situation, where it would no doubt be confiscated, or if it were stolen, I’d feel the loss. I’d have a huge Python-shaped hole in my revolver-loving soul. Would it not be better to carry a Smith 686, or a Ruger? Not that I wouldn’t pine at their loss, but I might not pine as much.

I think the only thing to do is put it to the test. Head-to-head. Gun vs. Gun. The Python vs. the Smith & Wesson 686. How will the snake stand up to the Smith? Stay tuned.

Should You Buy a New or Vintage Colt Python in 2026?

Buy a modern Python if: you intend to shoot the thing. The revived revolver gives you the Python profile, excellent trigger, current-production support, stronger construction, modern manufacturing, and a price that is substantially less terrifying than damaging a collectible Royal Blue gun.

Buy a vintage Python if: the history is part of the purchase. A real Royal Blue revolver from the classic production era has craftsmanship, finish, provenance, and collector appeal that a modern gun cannot recreate simply by wearing the same rollmark.

Buy carefully if: somebody is asking premium vintage money. Verify originality, finish, serial period, barrel length, grips, cylinder wear, timing, previous gunsmithing, box and paperwork claims, and whether the revolver has been refinished. “Python” alone does not make every old example a museum piece.

Our 2026 verdict: For a shooter, the new Python makes more sense. That is the great gift of the 2020 revival. You can finally own a Python and behave like a person who owns a revolver instead of the temporary curator of an increasingly expensive historical object.

The vintage gun still owns the romance. The modern gun owns the range bag. And if your finances allow one of each, congratulations on discovering the easiest possible answer to this entire article.

Colt Python Pros & Cons in 2026

• Modern Python Pros: Stronger construction, simplified action, excellent trigger, current production support, multiple barrel lengths, stainless and blued options, and substantially lower cost than many collectible originals.
• Modern Python Cons: It is not an original hand-fitted Royal Blue Python, and premium pricing still places it above many extremely capable .357 revolvers.
• Vintage Python Pros: Classic hand fitting, Royal Blue and period finishes, historical importance, exceptional trigger reputation, collector value, and unmistakable old-school craftsmanship.
• Vintage Python Cons: High prices, condition-sensitive value, specialized repair concerns, possible timing wear on heavily used examples, and the emotional trauma associated with putting a scratch on something worth several thousand dollars.